Prices go up. It's simply a fact of life, but there's a difference between necessary and expected price increases — like inflation — and corporate price hikes. Over the past decade, it has become harder and harder to tell the difference between the two in the smartphone industry. Sale prices for phones across all price points are rising. It's an unfortunate trend for our wallets that, by all indications, won't get any better when Samsung officially unveils its upcoming Galaxy S25 series next year.
For context, Samsung might be one of the worst offenders when it comes to outrageous smartphone pricing. The current Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is the most expensive non-foldable flagship Android phone on the market in the U.S. today, with a retail price of $1,299. The prior Galaxy S23 Ultra was cheaper, but Samsung axed the cheaper model with reduced RAM this year, and thus the cost is higher.
It did something similar with the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6, raising the price of each by $100 despite minimal improvements. In other words, Samsung is no stranger to price hikes. On top of that, the already-high price of the Galaxy S24 Ultra leaves the brand little wiggle room. How much more expensive can this phone get?
From the beginning, rumors indicated that Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset was more expensive than its predecessors. By nature, that would send shockwaves through the industry. OEMs could either eat the cost or pass the higher fee onto consumers — and I think we all know which option corporations are likely to choose.
In September, a reliable leaker claimed that the price of a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset increased by about 20% compared to the prior generation, reaching about $190 — just for the system-on-a-chip. More recently, things have been quiet about Snapdragon 8 Elite and Galaxy S25 pricing. That is until this week when a Korean outlet reported on the possibility of a price increase for the Galaxy S25 series in some markets.
Yonhap News (Korean) believes that the higher cost of the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, paired with unfavorable exchange rates, could lead to a price hike in South Korea — and possibly other markets. However, a separate report from WinFuture (German) notes that price increases might not affect every region.
Although the official prices of Snapdragon 8 Elite chipsets aren't public, they appear to be a driving factor behind talk about higher prices during this release cycle. The experts agree: according to a report from Counterpoint Research, the rising global average sale price (ASP) of smartphones is linked to higher costs for processors and memory. Early Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered phones, such as the Xiaomi 15, have been priced higher as a result.
Counterpoint Research associates the push for 3nm and 4nm process nodes with the price increases for silicon across the market. Qualcomm is using the 3nm fabrication process for the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and, crucially, its custom Oryon core design. It's the same in-house design that helped the Snapdragon X laptop chip become a fan favorite.
Interestingly, the Snapdragon X Plus chip helped midrange laptops become more powerful and at approachable price points. Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 8 Elite looks to be a big upgrade over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, but it is doing the opposite for affordability. It's fair to wonder if the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset is really worth it if it drives the prices of the Samsung Galaxy S25 series even higher.
It's not just the flagship phones getting more expensive, either. The SoC and memory costs are driving the global average sale price up overall. The global ASP is projected to rise 3% this year and 5% next year, according to counterpoint. You might be surprised to learn that even with 2024's projected 3% price increase, the global ASP for smartphones is just $365.
You're not entirely wrong for expecting that figure to be much higher. That's because the ultra-premium sector of the smartphone market, including the best Android phones, is growing rapidly. And more Android phones are joining that category as price hikes continue to happen throughout the industry.
Counterpoint Research reports that sales of smartphones costing over $1,000 or more increased 18% year-over-year in the first half of 2024. Companies like Samsung continue to raise prices, and shockingly, we keep paying them. Will that change with the Galaxy S25 series?
We shouldn't pay more for the Samsung Galaxy S25 series
Based on the latest leaks and rumors, the Samsung Galaxy S25 series will bring quite a few improvements. The Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset is as good as advertised, and at least some Galaxy S25 models are projected to get a larger screen. However, many other things will likely be unchanged from the Galaxy S24 series, like the overall design and the camera hardware on certain models.
Put another way, the Galaxy S25 might be a great phone. It just probably won't be worth more than the Galaxy S24, which was already priced fairly high. The only way we, as consumers, can tell Samsung this is by resisting the temptation to upgrade to the latest generation of Galaxy. If the Galaxy S25 comes at a higher price yet again, I can say with absolute certainty I won't be buying it.
